Old Barns Without Corners

Across the Fence #533

Old barns have a special place in the hearts of many people. After I sent the old barn story to the newspapers last week, I received an e-mail from Rae Ann Holub, Editor of the Linn News-Letter in Central City, Iowa, where Across the Fence runs each week. She included before and after photos of the restoration of her father’s round barn.

The story begins in 1913, when her great grandfather, Robert “Rob” Kirkpatrick, went to a horse sale in Missouri. He saw a unique round barn, something new in those days, built around a silo. The silage would never freeze because it was insulated by the haymow full of hay. That’s a great feature, as anyone knows who’s chipped away at frozen silage with a pickaxe. Also, the cows could be fed on ground level in stanchions built around the silo. Before her great grandfather went home, he measured every board in the haymow floor, counted bricks, drew up sketches, and then headed home with his dream to build his own round barn.

Round barns that are still standing are few and far between in most parts of the country. Here in Vernon County, Wisconsin, we’re very familiar with them. It’s said that we have the largest concentration of round barns in the world. Two summers ago I visited the remaining ten round barns and did a video documentary on them, along with June Zalewski Pedretti, who wrote a book in 1993 on the history of Vernon County’s round barns. There were still 16 standing at that time. 

Many of the round barns in Vernon County were built by Alga “Algie” Shivers, an African American who lived in the Cheyenne Valley. Tom Shivers, Algie’s father, was a former slave who came to Wisconsin after the Civil War, and settled on land near Hillsboro. It was a very integrated community and the Shivers family was well respected. Algie learned carpentry skills and built at least 15 round barns. Algie in Wisconsin, and Rae Ann’s great grandfather, Rob, in Iowa, both recognized the uniqueness and efficiency of round barns. Not only were they efficient for feeding the cattle, the round barns were also more resistant to strong winds. Instead of slamming into a flat surface, the wind is redirected around the curves of the barn. 

Round barns were first built around 1880, but the peak popularity was between 1900 and 1920. Eventually round barns became the victim of agriculture mechanization. Square bales instead of loose hay made it harder to put a square peg in a round hole. Barn cleaners and pipelines were harder to curve around a barn instead of going straight. As dairy herd sizes increased it was harder to put an addition on a round barn. Those problems were not in the picture when Algie and Rob built their barns.

Rob Kirkpatrick and his wife, Jennie, homesteaded their farm near Coggon, Iowa in 1905 and raised five children there. He began construction on his dream of a round barn in 1914. He did all the work himself, except for a bricklayer he hired who worked for room and board and $195 for three months of work. The bricks for the barn were all shipped by railroad flatcar from Chicago to Coggon with a shipping fee of $77. They were hauled to the farm by horse and a hayrack. The total cost of the barn was $1,995, not including labor.

Rob’s daughter, Irene, and son-in-law Duane Dighton, bought the farm after Rob passed away in 1935. Their son, Dave, and his wife Marilyn, bought the farm in 1970. They are Rae Ann’s parents. Her younger sister, Lynne, and her husband Mark Rauch, now own the farm, which is designated as a Century Farm.

Kirkpatrick barn before restoration. 

The old round barn that has been a working barn, was beginning to deteriorate like all old barns, and was falling apart. But in 2005 it got a second life when Dave Dighton wanted to preserve the hard work and craftsmanship he knew his grandfather had put into building the unique barn. He also knew it would cost a small fortune to restore the barn. People told Rae Ann’s father that his grandfather was crazy for building it in the first place, and he was crazier for wanting to restore it. With the help of the Iowa Barn Foundation and private donations, the restoration was completed in time for the Iowa Barn Tour in 2005. That stately old barn is now on the State and National Register of Historic Places.

Kirkpatrick barn after being restored.

The barn is located at 3344 120th Avenue, Coggon, Iowa, 2-1/2 miles northeast of Coggon in Delaware County. If you’re interested in old barns and round barns, take a road trip and check this one out.

It’s nice to hear about old barns that have been restored so future generations can also enjoy the beauty and uniqueness of them. Many of these barns are still used for storage and livestock. It’s been said, when you take the cattle out of a barn, the barn loses its soul. I remember how empty and desolate our old barn was at the end. I know there’s a lot of truth in that statement. They do lose their soul if they’re not used.

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